Apparently, there is plenty of butt-hurt to go around in the Senate Republican Caucus, after a rump of moderates and neo-conservatives bonded together to preserve the filibuster, but sold out the conservative effort to permanently weaken the Consumer Financial Protection Agency and the National Labor Relations Board. Most of them are also pissed off that another Latino will head the Labor Department, although they pretend it is about a lack of responsiveness to some House subpoena.
A meeting of Senate Republicans on Wednesday grew tense as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told his members he could have gotten a better deal on nominations than the one negotiated by rank-and-file Republicans.
McConnell’s tone, according to multiple sources, implied that he had been kept in the dark about the talks between some in his own ranks and Democrats. However, those same Republicans say they kept McConnell updated throughout their negotiating process.
Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., got so frustrated with McConnell’s presentation of events, that he called “bullshit” loud enough for the room to hear, nearly a half-dozen sources said.
Needless to say, the House Republican Caucus, which actually has chairmen on committees, was relying on the Senate’s obstruction on labor and consumer issues, and they will now be forced to deal with a harsher reality.
They frickin’ killed labor organizing in this country. Why exactly are they in disarray? They wanted to kill the financial system again too?
I wonder if this isn’t a broader assault in the Senate on the McConnell Doctrine. Some Senators need accomplishments to run on and some pine for when the Senate did things. Maybe McConnell becomes as powerless and Boehner already is over this.
McCain’s role where he basically said, ‘shoo, we got this’ to McConnell was intriguing.
Now, if McCain can steady the whining and stop McConnell’s instinct to double down on retribution we may happily be in a dance with disarray.
I’m starting to think that all the bullshit is making it just plain miserable to be a Senator from day to day. Why to to all that trouble to get elected and then deliberately accomplish nothing? How could you possibly be happy living your working life like that?
Republican’s have no problem with it. So we just pay them to do nothing. That side of the aisle in the Senate and the House is total anarchy. Bunch of idiots.
But that’s the thing. It seems like they are starting to have a problem with it. I don’t have any trust in the idea that Republicans will want to do anything good with law or policy. But if they want to do anything at all with law or policy, even a change for the worse, they need to move off this stance of pure obstruction. It can’t be fulfilling to spend years raising tens of millions of dollars to get elected just to sit with your thumb up your butt.
Awwww. I can almost here that tiny violin…
Don’tcha love it when repubs call bullshit on their own?
It’s not disarray. It’s more like a scripted wrestling series.
It’s not Republicans in disarray, it’s Democrats. Always Democrats who are in disarray. Geez, get your media clichés right. Republicans are united on whatever they’re fighting over, and nevermind that knife fight going on in the Senate cloak room; doesn’t concern you anyway.
Besides, when they get done with this minor contretemps, all will be forgiven* and the Republican caucus will be stronger and more united than ever. Not to mention smaller.
*Notice I didn’t say “forgotten.”